BAN vs NED Review: Netherlands sparks joy in their World Cup campaign

The 27th match of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 was held at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, where Bangladesh and Netherlands faced off and the latter made their World Cup campaign an even more rememberable affair, winning the game by a massive 87-run margin to register their second win in the tournament.

The Netherlands won the toss and chose to bat first. The Dutch batters struggled early on, losing wickets quickly and finding themselves at 63/4 in the 15th over. Wesley Barresi showed promise but was eventually dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman. The Dutch batters had difficulty adjusting to the slow pitch. Sybrand Engelbrecht and Scott Edwards tried to stabilize the innings with a 78-run partnership, but they struggled to accelerate later on. Despite Edwards scoring 68, the Netherlands couldn’t build significant partnerships. Logan van Beek’s late charge helped them reach a total of 229 runs.

Chasing the target, Bangladesh had a poor start and kept losing wickets regularly. None of their top-order batters were able to make a significant contribution. A few of them got starts but failed to convert them into big scores like the opposition captain did.

All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the highest scorer for Bangladesh, with 35 runs off 40 balls. However, the rest of the batters struggled against the disciplined bowling of the Dutch bowlers. Bangladesh were eventually all out for just 142 runs, resulting in a comfortable 87-run victory for the Netherlands

Top Performers of the Match

Scott Edwards (68 of 89)

Scott Edwards, the Dutch captain, showcased great composure and played a brilliant knock to help his team reach a respectable total. Despite the challenging conditions for batters, he hit six boundaries during his innings.

Paul van Meekeren (4/23, 7.2overs)

Paul van Meekeren, known for his pace and bounce, demonstrated his bowling prowess by taking four important wickets, including those of Najmul Hossain Shanto, captain Shakib Al Hasan, and Mushfiqur Rahim. He consistently troubled the Bangladeshi batters with his pace and bounce throughout the match.

What next?

Going ahead, Australia will play against Pakistan on October 31 while Netherlands will take on Afghanistan on November 3.